Low cost HARDWARE

Monitors:  ACER! Bang for the Buck, Acer LCD Monifors are absolutely AWESOME! Just compare Reviews at NewEgg.com. One of the most important specifications for an LCD monitor is the contrast ratio and all of the Acer monitors are 2500:1 (DCR) or better. This is important for watching video/movies with dark background - the higher the contrast ratio, the better you can see details in a dark or nearly black background. I have actually compared several Acer monitors, side by side with a Top Of The Line Samsung and find the Acers actually look better.

OnLine Retailers: My personal favorite is NewEgg, Hands Down! Not only do they have great prices and fast shipping, their Customer Care cannot be beat! Go to www.newegg.com - I also like:

  - Tiger Direct: A few years ago I stopped using Tiger Direct because they shared my personal information - that really "ticked" me off. They have cleaned up their act and recently purchased CompUSA. Good prices and Excellent selection.

  - eBay: Did you know Major RETAILERS Like SEARS, BEST BUY & others have Outlet Stores on eBay? Just check out the User Names "sears_liquidation_center" and "best_buy_outlet" to see for your self!

"Recertified vs. New: I Think "Recertified" electronics are Better than New because they are individually tested instead of just coming off an assembly line and shipped. New electronics are randomly tested - perhaps one out of a thousand are actually tested.

Here's an example of a "Recertified find in 2009:

  While Researching External Hard Disk Drives for friends and collegues, I crossed paths with a friend at MicroCenter who told me about the "Recertified" Western Digital external drives. A few months ago, Western Digital® shipped some drives with a faulty AC Adapter (Power Supply Brick) and they quickly recalled them all. Each drive was tested by Western Digital, repackaged with a new and improved AC Adaptor then shipped to authorized WD dealers as "Recertified".

  After reading reviews, I found lots of evedence about this story - weeding through uninformed reviews, I found the few negative reviews were about the power supplies. Most of these were NEVER Sold or used, so I started shopping specifically for "Recertified" 500GB Western Digital® My Book® HDDs. BTW, "Recertified" = Recalled & pulled from the dealer's shelves - issue corrected by Western Digital® & shipped in a brown box.

  I ended up buying four of them for between $55.00 and $62.00 each, Including Shipping, and with SMRPs of between $99.00 and $129.00. Two of these External HDDs have eSATA II or USB 2.0 or iEEEE 1394 (FireWire) interfaces! They all look Just Like New (actually are New) and work perfectly!